the band

what we talk about, when we talk about music

Cry Fire is a group of friends from Pittsburgh who have been playing music together for years. We certainly hope you enjoy listening as much as we've enjoyed playing, singing, and flailing about. That picture above is quite old at this point, back when we were young and pretty.

The influences that combine to make-up this band are diverse. Ranging from the hard rock greats (Zep, Van Halen, Hendrix, early Clapton, etc), to blues legends (BB King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, SRV), and jazz virtuosos (Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, John Coltrane, Miles, Herbie, etc). Couple that with a 90s childhood (Pearl Jam, STP, Soundgarden, etc), and a slight taste for prog (Rush, King Crimson) gives birth to the sounds you hear. Still, at the end of the day, we're all suckers for a good hook.

Our first record Strangers, came together as sessions for a second record with their previous group, The Known World, fell apart. Dan Bozek, James Graff, and Nathaniel Minto hit the reset button, and tucked themselves away at Aardvark Productions for the early winter months of 2008. Joined by Jim Platania on drums, and Kelly Pease, Caroline Minto and Aly Petchal on backing vocals, by the time spring rolled around, the band had emerged with a new name, and a full record of new material completed.

For the second record If I Don't See You Again, Minto, Graff and Bozek mixed up the lineup again with Peter Wilson on drums, the great Katie Ohh on vocals and a host of others. This record plays goes in a lot of different directions, just like us.

We've recorded other material, which will hopefully see the light of day at some point. We've met and played with a lot of new friends, notably Erik Kerr and Gary Matassa on drums, and the incomparable Joe Sheehan on keys.